Closer than you think
by RockingCass12
Summary: The person you're meant to be with might be right in front of you, all it takes is some searching. (TWO-SHOT)
1. Chapter 1

**I AM TRASH**

 **I CAN NOT DEAL**

 **I'M SUPPOSED TO FINISH THINGS!**

 **AND HERE I AM, WRITING AN ONESHOT ON MY NEWEST OBSESSION…**

 **(Breathes in slowly) Well if you are a fan of Miraculous Ladybug, then this is your lucky day because I've decided to join a journey I can never turn back from…**

 **I'm being over dramatic sorry… enjoy the oneshot! I've already written like a lot and scrapped it then made this, it might be better or worse but it's worth a shot.**

 **I've only watched the Dub so sorry for any confusion there might be.**

* * *

One Sentence.

That's all it took.

One measly sentence and all you ever thought had been disregarded and replaced with irrationality and lack of control… wait… no that would only be Adrien…

Currently he's dangling off a tree branch... by his foot. Honestly how could he be this clumsy, he's a cat for miraculous sake! But that wasn't the worst part, no, the worst part was that he was dangling in front of Marinette Dupain-Cheng and he was currently Chat Noir.

Maybe as Adrien he could slick past the hairy situation, but as Chat that wasn't going to happen. And Marinette was not entirely happy with Chat… more like _livid_.

To be fair on his part, this whole mess could be explained calmly.

That darn _sentence_ started it all.

It was a pleasant evening of patrolling with Chats beloved Ladybug. The wonderful summer breeze danced in her hair as she swung from building to building and his wide curious green eyes danced watching her. His heart could only be overwhelmed by her and his thoughts were nothing but consumed with her. Whoever she is under that mask, he loves her.

But finding out who she is behind the mask is harder than he'd suspect it to be. All he needed was a hint-

"Hey Kitty something wrong?" The heroine called out behind her to him on the rooftop.

He smirked at her concern "It's nothing milady. Just admiring the night."

She placed her hand on her hip and observed the night herself as if she was only -noticing it now "I guess it is quite nice…" she said nonchalantly.

The blonde haired feline dipped down to sit and enjoy said evening and looked over to his lady "Why don't we take a small break and enjoy it milady?"

He was surprised she didn't order him to get up and continue their patrol and even more surprised that she sat next to him to actually did what he suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea." She sighed through her lips.

Her dazzling blue eyes watched the night sky, searching for some hidden stars in the skyline. The breeze swept up again and blew her pigtails in his direction.

' _She smells sweet, like vanilla.'_ He noted

He couldn't help but notice every detail he could about her with the mask on. Like her eye lashes are long and full; making her blue eyes stand out more now that he had paid attention, or that not all her freckles were concealed by her mask and her lips are full and somehow always pulled into a small smile that she herself doesn't notice.

He wanted more to admire.

"Something the matter?" she asked catching him staring at her.

He smirked at her "Not at all milady. I'm just paw-sitively enriched by your beauty and living in the meow-ment."

She rolled her eyes on cue, she expected a pun or two sooner or later. But she wasn't convinced of his answer.

"Who do you think you're fooling Kitty?"

The blonde laughed slightly, almost sounding down. But even though she was sounding playful his features displayed emotions that were unlike him, almost desperate.

"Ladybug…" he sounded pleadingly

Her smile disappeared hearing his tone and nodded to hear what he had to say.

"Who are you?" he asked in a way she couldn't deny.

She held her breath unsure how to respond even though she had countlessly given the same answer to the same question, but something felt different to this time. She couldn't really grasp why he wanted to know the girl under the mask… why he always pesters her about her civilian life. She knew the flirting gave indication of his attraction towards her, but never would she have guessed he wanted to know Marinette as well as Ladybug.

Her thoughts delayed her answer and Chat was becoming worried from her silence.

"Well, that's something I can't say Chat…" she excused herself.

He sighed "I know"

"But…" she drawled out teasingly and his ears picked up eagerly.

"Just because I can't say who I am doesn't mean you can't look for me. I can't help it if you find out by yourself." She reasoned.

Chat smirked "So does that give me permission to follow you milady?"

"Oh dear Chat, you wouldn't keep up if that's the case" she playfully bantered.

She noticed how his green eyes sparkled with excitement by the challenge but she gave him something else to ponder on.

"But dear Chat-" she wiggled her finger in front of him

" _I might be closer than you think, you just have to look."_ She winked

"What do you think I've been doing this whole time milady?" he groaned

She giggled and pushed herself back onto her feet, indicating it was time to continue patrol. Without warning she flung her magical yo-yo and swung off towards Notre Dame. He chuckled aloud as he pulled himself up and brought his baton out to follow.

"So the chase begins my lady."

* * *

The chase felt futile to say in the least. Adrien was so close to breaking at this point and it's only been two weeks since the spotted heroine gave him the challenge. He was currently exhausted, not only from his frantic attempts to follow Ladybug home but along with his schedule Natalie had so graciously filled up for him, (till today thankfully) and not to mention the amount of work he had to do to make sure his grades stayed flawless.

Thankfully today was Friday and Adrien could ease up on his civilian life. He arrived at school with his face trained to look like he wasn't tired, but his feet said differently as he was practically dragging them to class.

Once in class Nino immediately saw that his best friend was on the brink of collapsing, despite Adrien's façade he tried to display to everyone else.

"Dude, you look like a zombie." Nino joked.

Adrien took his seat and let his face fall on the desk with a drained moan in response to his best friend.

Nino laughed but sympathetically patted Adrien's back and then turned to face Alya, who was complaining to Marinette.

"It's so frustrating Marinette! Every time I'm close to figuring out who Ladybug is, it backfires! Whoever she is, she is a master of secrets." Alya frustratingly groaned.

The conversation reached Adrien's ears in interest, as he too is trying to figure out the mystery of Ladybug, so he kept listening attentively.

Marinette giggled at the blogger but tried to reassure her best friend, but what Marinette didn't know, was that what she was about to say next would cause an uproar in Adrien's life.

"I know this might not help Alya but _she might be closer than you think, you just have to look_."

Adrien's head flew up as fast as a bullet; his eyes were wide and in shock.

'What did she just say?!' he almost spoke aloud.

He quickly turned to face Marinette, who got startled by his previous action, and couldn't help but stare at her. He couldn't help to do so because she sounded **exactly** like Ladybug! Ladybug told him the exact same thing two weeks ago and Marinette's voice was identical to the masked heroine!

It could be a coincidence since a few people sound alike but it was so uncanny and the more he looked at Marinette, the more she looked like Ladybug from her hair colour to her eye colour.

'Has she always had freckles?' he asked himself in his head

Alya coughed awkwardly as Adrien had been staring for a bit and he internally yelled at himself for it but smoothly recovered, well… almost "Sorry Marinette I wanted to ask you something but I totally spaced! Sorry to bother." he chuckled at himself to seem convincing.

"Oh! Problem no! I mean NO PROBLEM! I-it's never a bother with you… Not that you're a bother other times! But um d-don't worry!" Marinette fumbled and probably slapped her head mentally.

With a smile he turned around and leaned his face into the desk trying to sort his thoughts out.

'Maybe I'm wrong, Ladybug does speak a bit more coherently' Adrien was reasoning in his head.

Although he does recall when Ladybug speaks to Adrien in his civilian form she isn't her usual graceful self… was Ladybug ever really graceful? In the beginning of their partnership she was a lot clumsier, and Marinette could fall over insects if she really tried.

Besides, Marinette might just be nervous around Adrien since she has no problems speaking to Chat Noir, she's even snarky and teasing with the cat hero!

The more Adrien reasoned the more he pictured Marinette in the Ladybug outfit and it seemed she fit the bill exactly.

But Adrien can't be calling Marinette out on a few hunches, so how would he confirm this for sure?

* * *

Adrien had a bad idea…

Even Plagg was against it and if he was against it you know it's a _bad_ plan.

"Seriously kid this is a horrible idea. Why don't we both go clear our heads with some Camembert? Yeah?" Plagg suggested.

It was the end of the school day and Adrien has the afternoon off, but the blonde boy had quickly dismissed his driver and bodyguard to tell him he was with a friend and will call him later when he needed his ride home.

But was that what he was up to? Not even close.

He was in a bush.

By the School

Waiting for Marinette…

"I don't need to clear my head with stinky cheese, and I'll give you Camembert after this if that's what you're really after." Adrien hastily replied to his Kwami.

"No you doofus! I'm trying to get you to stop before Marinette calls the police on you." Plagg deadpanned.

Adrien only replied with an eye-roll and ignored the Kwami. Now all he had to do was to wait and put on the good ol' stealth mode… aka totally stalk her. It wasn't ideal for him, it really is the first time he's doing this so you can't exactly call him a creep.

While deep in thought he heard Alya's oh so familiar chatty voice which meant she was with Marinette. His eyes were glued to the door until the two females emerged and his breath felt a bit short. Did the idea of Marinette being Ladybug affect him this much? One could only imagine how he would react if said girl was in fact the masked spotted hero.

His ears zoned in onto the best friends conversation and tried ever so carefully not to be noticed.

"Are you sure you don't want company at the fabric store?" Alya asked.

Marinette shook her head "I'm sure, I want to go somewhere quiet to work on new designs afterwards in any case, I know you have to update the blog today anyway." Marinette rationalized.

Adrien groaned a bit inside, following her around isn't going to be easy today. Maybe at some point he could transform and watch her from the rooftops? His own thoughts convinced him that he's sounding creepier by the minute…

The girls waved each other off and Marinette started her journey to the fabric store. Once they were far enough away, Adrien began his pursuit.

He kept a reasonable distance and occasionally went behind a tree although he would receive some curious gazes. He decided he would pull out his phone and pretend to play Pokémon GO, he doesn't own the game due to his father's restrictions but nonetheless the onlookers figured he was playing.

He kept tailing Marinette the best he could as Adrien, but he sure did have trouble blending into the background, especially at the fact that his face is kinda plastered around Paris. Though the blonde had his reasons not to be Chat right now was the best option for now since following Marinette into stores would be easier to do as Adrien.

They were close to the store but he noticed Marinette had stopped to enjoy the view of a lone cherry blossom tree. He kept a good distance that he couldn't be spotted and that he could see her clearly.

She stood on her tippy toes to smell the lowest branch of the tree and sighed in delight. But what she did next was odd.  
She opened her small pink sling on purse and started to talk to herself… very odd indeed but Adrien couldn't help but to try and angle his head to see what was in the purse. Perhaps a cell phone? Maybe it was on loud speaker and she was being cautious of pickpockets around here?

' _Or maybe she's talking to her Kwami'_ his thoughts invaded suddenly.

"Plagg" he beckoned for the small feline.

Said small feline whipped out from his hiding place "This better be one of those moments where I get Camembert and we get to go home without getting arrested."

"Can you get cheese off your mind for a minute? I need a question answered."

The small Kwami frustratingly sighed and gestured for him to ask.

"Can you tell if the ladybug Kwami is near?" Adrien asked while looking at Marinette chatting away at her bag.

Plagg noticed Marinette's actions and raised a brow "I may grant powers kid but I'm not psychic or tele-whatever. But that does look suspicious…"

Adrien nodded and let the Kwami go back into his hiding place. Even though he didn't get the answer he hoped for, at least he wasn't the only one wary about Marinette's actions.

Suddenly Marinette closed the purse and proceeded to the fabric store. He decided to wait outside since the store was fairly small and there would be no way for Adrien to go undetected in there.

' _Maybe it's a good time to transform?'_ Adrien thought

As if his Kwami was really telepathic he sprung out of his hiding place "Don't do it Adrien…" Plagg warned.

Adrien huffed "Since when have you stopped plans like this before, I thought you would encourage my rebellious side or whatever?"

Plagg usually doesn't get cautious and he really doesn't care what Adrien does with his powers, so he couldn't help but wonder if the little Kwami knows something he doesn't. Nevertheless Adrien was following his heart on this one.

"Plagg, Claws out!

Before the little feline got sucked into the silver ring, he could only groan and shake his head at his holder.

As the blonde model changed in his hiding spot he wasted no time using his baton to get into a lush tall tree to hide. It didn't take Marinette a long time to get the materials she wanted and she proceeded to where she was on to next.

Chat Noir kept a good distance, watching her closer than he did as Adrien thanks to his enhanced vision due to his Miraculous. With this in hand it was ironic that Marinette kept her purse close and thus showing no indication of a Kwami in her possession.

He was getting restless at the lack of progression… maybe there was nothing there to begin with and he wasted his time by being a creeper. The Cat hero sighed restlessly and was ready to give up.

Until he saw Marinette trip… over a flight of stairs…

He was going to leap towards her and save her, until… that it is that she already landed on her feet, and gracefully to top it off!

It was almost like it played in slow motion from when her feet betrayed her. As she fell she dropped what she was holding and her hands, almost as if it was natural, held her body up on the one step and let her body gently fall backwards letting her feet meet the next step she found and pulled her body aright again. The girl looked around and sighed in relief that no one witnessed her clumsy blunder. Too bad she didn't look up in the trees…

Adrien's mouth hung as if he dislocated his jaw and couldn't close it.

' _Marinette the clumsy girl did that?!'_ he yelled internally.

He slapped himself in the head for considering leaving now. Marinette never showed signs of being athletically interested and the way she gracefully recovered like a gymnast reminded him of Ladybug.

She walked back up the stairs to get the abandoned bag of fabric and she opened her purse again, keeping her back to him and he couldn't see if she was talking to the pink bag.

If Adrien had any doubts now he completely left them behind and continued to watch over his classmate. She closed her purse again and hoped on a bus at the nearest stop. He thus jumped from building and followed her towards some place near the Seine he had never been to before.

Despite his lack of knowledge of the place, he didn't really care too much, because it was one of the most beautiful places he'd ever laid his eyes on.

Colours upon colours danced everywhere in his line of sight and a beautiful palace stood proudly in the distance. The flowers refused to leave his gaze and have altered his sights on another flower he was to follow.

Still though, his thoughts were only filled by the beauty of the botanical garden and if he slightly looked somewhere else he would see different greenhouses occupying more and various different flowers.

He shook his head slightly remembering he was following Marinette but temporarily lost sight of her. It wasn't too hard since the one greenhouse he found interest in must have caught Marinette's eyes as well since she was heading towards it.

He waited for her to enter and settle before he would stealthily come in too. As he did he had to hold a gasp that almost escaped is lips at the beauty of this certain greenhouse.

It was lush and green but that didn't intrigue him but it was the beautiful pond inside that held beautiful water flowers and lily pads. Some of the certain lilies were bright pink, sunny yellow, royal purple or royal blue, Adrien had to resist the urge to plop one out the pond and bestow it to Ladybug on his next meeting.

Which reminded him…

In the distance he saw Marinette on a bench under a smaller oak tree than the others around it as it looked to the youngest amongst the saplings but still had stern branches and was a very lush youngling compared to some of the other oaks.

He quietly climbed up the tree he was near and looked outside to see dusk settle in and no other people in the greenhouse which meant he could use the shadows and up his stealth if he wanted to be quiet and not get noticed.

He surprised himself how he almost ninja-ed his way into the tree Marinette was sitting under.

He used the shadows of the branched to blend in the lush tree whilst still having his eyes and ears on her. Once he was positioned he could easily see her sketching on her sketchpad and smiled in admiration of the clever and amazing designs she was working on. He wasn't the only one that noticed though.

"Wow Marinette these designs are your best yet!" a little sweet voice told the designer.

Adrien's neck almost snapped by trying to look for the holder of the voice but no luck was found.

"Thanks Tikki, but something's missing." Marinette replied to the one known as 'Tikki' who Adrien still couldn't spot.

He looked to Marinette and followed her gaze to her purse near her sketchpad and saw something small and red.

"What the…" the feline boy muttered

The little red dot shot out of the purse looking alarmed and giving Adrien a better look… at the… Kwami…

The green eyed boy's pupils constricted at the sight of what he had been searching for.

The Ladybug Kwami.

"Marinette I heard something" Tikki warned her holder.

Alarmed by Tikki's words by her warning of his position he was about to leap out of there but fate had another idea for him. It happened so fast and he couldn't control how his feet slipped against the bark and automatically disconnected, causing him to fall.

The fall was so quick and he couldn't comprehend that he didn't land on his face in the dirt but for reasons he can't explain his foot was caught by the lowest oak branch… which happened to be the closest one to where Marinette was sitting.

She was no longer sitting there which led his heart from thumping rapidly in fear of his lack of vision of her at the moment.

He didn't have to worry too much because she stepped into his line of vision with her arms crossed. He gulped when he focussed on her face whilst being upside down and her expression did make him very nervous.

For someone as pretty as Marinette, Adrien didn't realise that when her pretty features displayed anger he would feel immediate fear. Facing so many villains week after week, he usually never felt scared, yet Marinette make his heart thump harder than any Akuma could.

Her eyebrows were scrunched and her lips held a fearful scowl, but the coldness of her tone sent shivers up his spine.

"What in the world are you doing?" she almost yelled.

The blonde gulped "Ah… ha… um surprise?"

Her angry brows changed and the one rose in scepticism "Surprise? Really? That's what you got to say to me you creep?" she replied irritably.

His brain was running wild at everything he saw before slipping and how he is in fact looking straight at the girl he had been looking for who knows how long and yet his tongue refused to work. Seeing her Kwami, who was now in hiding, had confirmed everything and filled so many blank spaces. All he could think about is that he found his lady and he was determined to win her over whether she was Ladybug or Marinette.

He couldn't help himself as his Chat-ness took over with his confidence that clearly had no place to interfere at the moment.

"Well you could say the cat's got my tongue _my Lady_."

She would've rolled her eyes at him but his nickname for Ladybug startled her.

"I'm sorry, what did you call me?" she asked in a jittery tone.

He pressed himself up to detangle his foot and landed gracefully like a cat. He stood in front of her but slowly invaded her bubble by stepping in a bit closer.

"Ladybug it's not very ladylike making a gentleman run in circles, nor is sportsmanlike to get upset after defeating a challenge you thought I would never complete." Chat grinned triumphantly.

"I really have no idea what you're going on about you silly cat." she lied through her teeth.

"'Just because I can't say who I am doesn't mean you can't look for me. I can't help it if you find out by yourself'" he mimicked her in a terrible girl's voice "-Is that not what you said? If so, can you really be angry at me for finding you miladybug?" he continued.

Marinette was screaming internally, how could he have figured it out?

"W-wait a minute. How did you find out? I'd always lose you after patrol… " she'd blurted and then covered her mouth realising she admitted she was Ladybug.

He grinned wickedly at her "You should really pay attention to what you say in your civilian form Princess." He mocked using her other nickname.

Marinette felt a bit faint at the information he fed her. Pay attention to what she says in her civilian form? Does she know Chat in real life?

"You know me as Marinette? W-who are you?" she stumbled on her stammering words.

He smiled at her as if her was going to make fun of her " _Well that's something I can't say,_ Ladybug" using her own previous words.

She looked at him irritably as he brought his baton out to leave and left her with the parting words.

" _I might be closer than you think, you just have to look"_

As he parted she groaned and huffed and yelled at herself in which TIkki came out from hiding to calm her holder down.

"So he knows who you are now, it's not the end of the world Marinette." Tikki tried to cam her down.

Marinette stopped her freaking out to only calmly breathe in and out. With a heated determined look on her face she looked towards the distance where she could still see Chat slightly.

"So the Chase begins dear Chat."

* * *

 **So yeeeah, was this bad? Idk… But it's done and I'm tired but happy this is out of my system.**

 **Weird fact I read on Wikipedia that Adrien's dad actually does forbid Adrien from playing Pokémon Go…**

 **And the botanical garden I mentioned is called the Jardin des Plantes. I just took a look at the pictures and my breath was taken away!**

 **So for now this is an oneshot, I have so much to catch up on in my Fairy Tail fics and maybe after all that madness I can write more MLB.**

 **Maybe if I get good response for this oneshot I might consider making this a two-shot. One chapter more won't hinder me… hopefully…**

 **Any who! Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

***Screams around with flailing arms* I'm late, I'm late! Must. Write. Part. Two!**

 **Happy March/April folks! I have been all over the place since the beginning of the year and I had just remembered I promised a part 2 to this story. Sorry for the long wait and a very BIG thank you to everyone who had followed, favourited and reviewed to this story! I don't think I've ever had such a spectacular response to a one-shot!**

 **So I hope you all enjoy and if you do let me know :)**

* * *

Paris couldn't have looked more beautiful than it did at dusk. The beautiful pinks and oranges lit the sky and the Eiffel tower shone in pride over the city. The city was looked after in more ways than others and made it peaceful to live in… well for some.

Due to the unfortunate circumstances of Hawkmoth living somewhere in the city, akuma incidents tended to occur a regular basis. But fear not! Ladybug and Chat Noir are the protectors of all Parisians!

Two partners with unique skills and good compatibility is definitely a recipe for a good team. But…

It makes it difficult when love is in the mix…

Due to some love struck craziness, Chat Noir had done something he should have never attempted to do, but the poor boy was at his wits end.

He found out Marinette Dupain-Cheng, is his very Ladybug.

It definitely came as a shock but it made so much sense and provided so much clarity, and it made him fall harder for her albeit it made her madder at him.

After that fateful day when he found out, he gave strong hints she knew him in her day to day civilian life and that she practically gave away her own cover and to top it off he refused to tell her who he was and made a game of the matter.

Marinette's competitive side was unleashed but her temperament wasn't as easy to control, especially when he mocked and teased, giving him the advantage.

One particular time after solving an akuma incident and the crowds had cleared around them, giving them a few minutes before reverting, he had started some jabs at her ego.

"Great job as always MariBug- Ooops! I mean Ladynette- Oh Sorry! No no, _Ladybug…_ " He teased, trying to act clever in using new names.

She glared at him and turned her back to him preparing to leave until she heard his voice again.

"Why not stick around Bugaboo, it doesn't matter if you revert after all~" he sang cheeringly.

She froze and gripped her yoyo hard.

She breathed in and out and whipped her yoyo across to swing away without saying anything, not to mention she was having a tough time not kicking his tail and killing him on the spot.

By the time she got home she was fuming. Jumping into her bedroom from the trapdoor Marinette released her transformation and didn't give much time for Tikki when she started to rant and huff.

"What a relentless Ally Cat!" she seethed as she walked to her chaise and then to her computer, pacing back and forth.

"He was a little over the top…" Tikki admitted

"Not only that, he blabs my name, well half of it, as a joke and anyone could have been nearby!" Marinette collapsed onto her chaise and groaned unbecomingly.

Tikki floated over to her head and patted it sympathetically and heard Marinette pipe up again.

"What could he possibly gain from torturing me like this?" She grumbled.

"You know Chat Noir, he seems to like teasing you when he can, whether its puns or poor jokes." Tikki sighed as she sat on her holders head.

"Well it has to stop, quite frankly I don't like being beaten at this game of his. He said he knows me in real life so the question is who it is and how I can catch him…" Marinette brainstormed.

"I sure we'll think of something Marinette. For now, you should start on your project for school. Hero's need to do homework too." The little polka dotted kwami lightly joked.

Marinette internally nodded and lifted herself off her chaise and headed to her desk to start her project for school.

She gave off a soft sigh "I hope tomorrow will get better."

* * *

Tomorrow didn't get better…

Anyone who knew how 'graceful' Marinette was in the morning would have not been surprised by her running, bumping and tripping she had to accomplish to make it to class on time.

With an exasperated sigh Marinette sat down at her seat just in time for class with her best friend smirking and shaking her head at her.

"Girl, how in the world did you make it here without breaking any bones? And I'm not talking about yours." Alya said in her usual sassy tone.

Marinette rolled her eyes "I'm lucky I guess" she dryly joked.

A stifled laugh came from the class door and both girls looked up to see Adrien was the one making the sound. The two stared at him, with no emotion on their faces- confused to why Adrien thought Marinette's sarcastic comment amused him.

He stared back and in a panic he faked a cough to pass off the first sound he made.

It seemed to work since Alya changed the subject.

Marinette tried to follow along with the new conversation at hand but she couldn't focus. Sure on a day to day basis Adrien clouded her mind but today she found it particularly difficult to tear her eyes away from him sitting in front of her.

His head tilted to the side to look behind him and their eyes locked for a moment. Her eyes few back to Alya's face pretending to pay attention.

She could only pray her cheeks weren't as hot as she felt.

' _Why did he just look at me? He usually never turns around…'_ she panicked internally.

That was the least of her troubles that day.

In science she fell asleep and Ms. Mendeleiev had been on her wits end and sent the sleepy girl to the Principals office… not to mention she got paired with Chloe _again_ in Chemistry.

So far everything was in shambles and to Marinette's detriment she definitely was not living up to Lady Luck as one would think.

It was almost time to head home in time to help her mother with dinner, which Marinette was eternally grateful for since she feels like she needs to end this day. As she was leaving the school grounds a familiar blonde popped up in front of her.

"A-A-Adrien!" she squawked by his sudden appearance.

He was smiling very charmingly, with or without his knowledge that reminded her of the emotion of smugness. But it didn't end there, no, Adrien just had to stop her heart once more… but not in the way she was expecting

"Fancy meeting you here Marinette." He joked, which was an occasional occurrence but then he winked at her and did the finder guns…

She blinked once. Twice.

' _Umm what?'_ she almost said aloud.

Her lack of response panicked the blonde but kept his cool and spoke again.

"Sorry about what happened in class, I mean being paired with Chloe; I know she can't be easy. Too bad you guys don't have good _chemistry_ …"

Marinette couldn't stop herself but she rolled her eyes and huffed at the pun but instantly regretted doing it so gaudily.

Adrien oh so desperately wanted to call her out on her Ladybug side showing but controlled himself from doing so.

Marinette tried to play off her eye roll with an attempt to laugh at the joke her crush made but came out sounding awfully fake. Adrien could tell and tried to contain his own laughter.

"Sorry for the pun, I know a lot of people aren't fans" Adrien apologised.

Marinette panicked "What- no no no! I-I love puns! I have a friend who can't stop making them! Yours was funnier though! Yep!"

She groaned at herself and ceased speaking in general. And 'I have a friend' is used very loosely right now as she wants to strangle said friend till his miraculous runs out.

No. no, no she will not think about that cat now, certainly not when she's in front of her school crush!

' _Who reminds me of Chat'_ her mind whispered.

She screamed at herself internally _'He does not! It was just the pun!'_

"Uh Marinette?" Adrien called out.

Marinette broke of her trance and looked bewildered to Adrien; she was somewhat disgusted at herself for zoning out so badly. Her face did certainly make Adrien chuckle.

"The joke must have been bad if it sent your mind flying" he said and winked at her.

Her face, which was red already, felt hotter tenfold. And the wink could kill… thankfully she was a hero that could handle it… barely.

"But don't worry" he continued "You pulled a very **cute** face"

Oh boy, scratch that last comment she was a goner.

Adrien didn't realise his own comment before he said it and he himself was screaming internally.

' _Really? Cool it with the flirting, you don't want her to find out by shameless seducing!'_ he scolded himself.

Before she could make an audible sound Adrien leapt to his recovery "Anyway I'll see you around!" he said and dashed off.

She still stood in place, mouth agape and face red, ready to die. She… just couldn't believe her ears! Adrien… ADRIEN just called her cute?! She wished someone was videoing or something.

"Well that was worth snooping around for" a familiar voice called out.

Of course Alya would be nearby with her phone pointed at Marinette who was still inaudible and red.

"Marinette B-R-E-A-T-H-E."

The Raven headed girl did as she was told and gasped for a large gust of air and breathed out as slowly as she could had.

"I… didn't dream that right?" she whispered.

Alya smirked and waved her phone "Do you want the proof?"

Marinette let a free hand cover her face and lightly laughed "Maybe another time… I don't think I can handle it right now"

Alya chuckled lightly and adjusted her bag "I'll send it to you later then. In the meantime why don't you walk by the park and cool down"

It was a good idea and Marinette certainly needed it.

Dusk was settling in and Tikki decided to take a nap in her purse. Perhaps with no one to talk to, she can sit in peace and sort out her thoughts. And with the park being right next door she can enjoy the whole sunset and return to help with dinner.

She sat on a bench under a lovely lush tree, enjoying the breeze sweeping through the leaves that refreshed Marinette along with the beautiful pink and orange sky calming her into tranquillity.

That was until a few leaves fell in front of her.

Her head turned upwards to see a naughty, very sly cat

"Still being a creep I see…" she sighed out.

"Still using that term I see" he countered with an impish grin.

Chat hopped down into the shadows by the bench and crouched down so no one could see him. She adjusted her body to face him but kept her body comfortable.

"Just how long are you going to torture me?" Marinette eyed her partner.

"You see it as torture, I see it as fun. And only until you find me, My Lady."

Marinette snorted _un_ ladylike at his comment "You aren't very easy to find Kitty. In fact I'm considering strangling you until your kwami comes out." She jokingly threatened.

" _Meow_ ch I don't want that to happen. So what? My charming personality not easy to spot?" he joked.

She laughed dryly "Hardly"

"Well I guess I should be blunt like the guy who made you blush redder than a cherry at school today" he teased.

On que her face went the cherry red he mentioned.

"You were eaves dropping?! How dare- Grr- I… I can't believe you!" she almost yelled out loudly but kept it tapered in case someone was walking past.

"You could say I got a front row seat" he snickered.

Before she could speak or possibly hit him he spoke again "So was that _purr_ haps my competition?"

She was sooo ready to smack him but huffed at him "That is none of your business" she hissed.

The sneaky black cat leaped onto the bench next to Marinette and intertwined his hands behind his head casually "You can't blame me for being a little jealous Bugaboo."

She remained quiet at what he said. Chat Noir is and had always been a flirt but his recent actions of desperation to find out who she was screamed something else on his behalf. Did he really like _like_ Ladybug? And knowing who she is now didn't change his mind? Was that really what this all was?

"So you really do like me" she muttered.

He heard her though despite her quietness, and remained still.

"Wasn't that always obvious?" He said back, feeling his cheeks heat up.

She raised her brow at him _. 'Well no not really'_ she thought to herself. She always had thought he was a jokester and a silly flirt, she hadn't ever thought it was because…

The revelation hit her and she felt awfully exposed. Her cheeks felt warm all of the sudden and thank the sun for hiding the red tones in her cheeks with its orangey sunset.

She coughed, recollecting herself "S-so then, now knowing your beloved lady is me, you h-haven't changed your mind?" she stuttered

He smiled warmly at her that sent shivers down her spine, as if those green eyes had stared at her before somewhere else but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"It made things ten times better." he grinned at her.

"In fact I feel so stupid for not putting it together sooner… the wit, the charm, the independency, the eyes, the freckles…" he chuckled "And overall, the ability to keep me wondering"

She was certain the sun couldn't save her now with her blushing. Even her mind was screaming at her to stop.

She breathed loudly through her nose and caught his attention. She noticed that he also couldn't hide his blush under his mask. So Chat Noir gets embarrassed too…

"And what about you, My Lady, what will you think of me when you find out my identity?" He asked barely audible.

Marinette looked to the suns last moments before setting, blinking slowly and tilting her head pondering.

"Well I guess I would be surprised since I apparently know you and I always assumed we never met out of costume…" she started.

"But I wouldn't think less of you. You're still my loyal, goofy, pun making, amazing partner and friend, I could never treat you less than that" she told him honestly.

He smiled at her words of endearment and couldn't help but feel like he was floating on air.

And then her last words got him to think.

' _So there's a chance you would treat me more than that?'_ he thought

The sun finally set and Marinette sighed peacefully, she hadn't thought her and Chat's conversation would take such a usual turn from her trying to kill him to her complimenting him. Perhaps now that she had been so nice to him she could try getting some information out of him.

"I know what you're thinking and nice try" Chat playfully said interrupting her thoughts.

' _Darn cat'_ she cursed

He got up and brought his baton from his belt "Well time for me to dash Princess. Till next time" he saluted and vaulted towards the building.

"Till next time ally cat"

* * *

' _He might be closer than you think'_ Marinette kept chanting to herself the following day

She hadn't intended to think about him the whole night but Chat Noir plagued her thoughts and not in a good way. For the most part she was thinking about the fact that he liked Ladybug and her, not just one side of her but both…

Quite a number of times she had to pat away the red in her cheeks…

Never… never had she blushed about Chat Noir… but his sincerity was just so appealing at the time. No jokes, no teasing, just him speaking from the heart and she couldn't get it out of her mind.

With her mind muddled up, Marinette hadn't realised she walked into her last class of the day which was chemistry.

She snapped out of her trance and sat at her desk where Chloe was supposed to be at too since she was her new partner.

Marinette scowled in her seat without realising until the moving of the chair next to her caught her attention. Her bright blue orbs turned to look at Chloe but instead found a set of eyes that belonged to another.

Adrien's eyes to be exact.

"Morning Marinette" he greeted

"H-Hi… uhhh what are you-?"

"I spoke to Miss Mendeleiev about swapping partners. I had Sabrina so I figured her and Chloe would get along as partners. I hope you don't mind." He explained

Her brain felt like it imploded… she was going to be his partner for the rest of the term? She wanted to pinch herself!

But at the same time her mind figured Chloe must be awfully mad that she's Adrien's lab partner and not her.

She forgot Adrien asked her a question and quickly answered his question before she seems rude "No, no I don't mind!" she squeaked.

"Morning Mari" Alya's voice called from behind her.

Adrien smiled at her and proceeded to write up some notes while the girls chatted.

Alya's face turned devilish and bent down to Marinette's ear "Chloe caused quite a ruckus earlier, wanting to swap Sabrina for Adrien. But Miss Mendeleiev put her in her place"

Marinette figured as much and cast her eyes to a glaring Chloe who flicked her ponytail arrogantly.

Marinette rolled her eyes and looked back at Alya "Great, I'm probably going to have to deal with her later aren't I?"

"I'm sure it's worth it though" Alya winked.

Before Marinette could respond Miss Mendeleiev entered the class and had assigned experiments.

Adrien smiled towards her "So new partner, why don't we make this term Fluorine Uranium Nitrogen?"

Marinette blanked "Uh…"

Adrien laughed at her expression "You know… FUN." He snickered again.

Marinette wasn't sure how to react but released a half-hearted laugh "Wow…" she said without realising.

"Sorry Marinette," Adrien laughed "I tell bad Chemistry jokes because all the good ones _Argon_ "

"Oh my god…" Marinette huffed out of control and quickly slapped her hand over her mouth.

"Don't worry! That is people's _reaction_ to chemistry jokes" Adrien laughed again.

Marinette laughed along too, not at the joke but how **bad** it was "Please stop, it hurts" she pleaded with a sheepish grin.

Adrien smiled _'Finally she opened up'_

"Adrien, Marinette, less yapping and more working!" miss Mendeleiev yelled from the front.

The two snapped back to work without hesitation but secretly peeked at one another.

And that's how the whole hour went, just her, Adrien and very, **very** bad Chemistry jokes. For the first time in the history of ever, Marinette wanted to strangle Adrien Agreste.

Was that even possible?

Yes, yes it was, especially when he would relentlessly shower her with lame jokes.

For instance, he asked her pass a beaker in which she said 'Kay' and he'd reply 'Well Potassium to you too'

Or when she wrote down the wrong formula he said 'I Zinc that's wrong'

And so on and so forth.

What she found the most odd about her day, was that she felt more like herself around the boy who made her act like a babbling idiot. How long would it last though… when she would look at him, even just a glance, she felt all those anxieties come back.

She wishes she could be herself like she was when she was around Chat, she wishes she could be good friends with Adrien like she is with Chat.

She frowned without realising it _'That mangy cat always finds his way back into my mind'_

The bell rang and broke her thoughts, she sighed in relief as it was the end of the day… a very _long_ day.

"See you tomorrow Marinette" Adrien smiled brightly at her before exiting the class.

"S-see you to-tomorrow!" She called out

When he left the class she groaned and covered her face in her hands and felt the sympathetic pat of Alya.

"Why is it so hard to talk to him? I was doing so well during class…" she fake cried.

Alya's interest peaked "What did you do differently during class?"

"Well the thing is that I didn't do anything… Adrien started acting differently…" Marinette frowned to herself again in confusion.

"He kept telling lame Chemistry jokes and puns and I couldn't help but laugh or scoff at them. I can't believe he saw that side of me," Marinette suddenly panicked at her realisation.

"Did he react badly to your reactions to the jokes?" Alya asked

"I guess not" Marinette whispered

"Then there's nothing to worry about. Your dislike for it maybe spurred him on to make more… Wow he's not the sweetheart we painted him as." Alya said in a humoured tone.

' _He did have a mischievous look in his eyes… Ugggh! This makes no sense!'_

It really didn't, Marinette couldn't really think straight from the start of the class and well for the remainder of the time.

' _I need to clear my head'_

And so she did, after she waved Alya off, Marinette transformed and took to the roofs of Paris. She leapt further and higher and swung faster with every thrust of her yo-yo. This was how she'd clear her mind, feeling the wind in her face and letting adrenaline coarse through her body. Her mind travelled to a simple and peaceful state were only she would be found.

Being Ladybug gave her that freedom, that indescribable fleeting feeling that she loves so much. Being Marinette is amazing but being Ladybug was equally as enchanting in such a different way.

The Hero in polka dots landed on top of Notre Dame and released a shaky breath of exhaustion. She didn't particularly like the part where her adrenaline wore off and she was left exhausted.

She stepped near the edge and breathed in as much as she could from the familiar view she had fallen in love with so long ago. So high and secluded, her mind felt completely at ease. Until…

"Thought I'd find you here Miladybug" Chat's voice said from behind her.

She gave him a deadpanned face without her knowledge.

"Everything okay?" he asked cautiously.

She snapped out of the facial expression and gave him a confused one "Yeah, just… needed fresh air. Chemistry class took a lot out of me today" she answered partially truthfully.

' _More like Adrien confusing me…'_ she thought.

"Did your teacher tire you out? Lab partner?" he asked

"NO!" she answered too quickly.

"I-I mean no, Adrien couldn't tire me out. He did confuse me today though" she said without thinking.

' _What am I saying? This isn't something you should be discussing with Chat!'_ she scolded herself.

"Oh?" Chat said surprised "How so?"

"Nothing to worry about" she answered again quickly, trying to dismiss the topic.

"Oh c'mon, he obviously got a _reaction_ out of you" he punned playfully.

She snapped and was prepared to raise her voice.

"Oh my God you sound just-!"

Wait…

Time seemed though it slowed down.

And the more the realisation came to her the faster time sped.

Chat Noir's eyes constricted at his mistake and wrapped his own hand around his mouth which was clearly **not** going to help him now.

Marinette could only stare at him in a mixture of shock, anger, happiness, relief and pure… pure realisation.

"-just like him… Adrien?" she breathed out.

He could only stare at her. He thought this moment would be… less tense. He pictured running into his arms and boom! Happily ever after! But he couldn't quite comprehend how his heart was ready to shatter if she rejected him.

She wasn't sure what to think until her brain recalled all the times they had been heroes together…

"A-all this time…" she mustered some words out in which Adrien became more anxious.

' _All those flirts, patrols, him jumping in front of me all the time… oh my- I kissed him during the Dark Cupid incident! This… this can't be real!'_

"Marinette, don't be mad" Chat asked walking towards her, looking so… worried and sad.

The masked hero let out a shaky breath, forgetting her own anxieties, and looked to her partner who looked as if she pulled a knife on him. She knew full well of his fear of being rejected. In the end did he really want to be found out?

"Silly cat," she breathed out, still comprehending what's going on in front of her and forgetting everything that made her worry.

"Remember what I said? I wouldn't think- I couldn't think less of you." She shakily spoke

"R-really? You don't hate me?" He looked down at his feet

"N-never!" She took a step closer to him

' _You just happen to be the boy I have a crush on'_

…

"W-what?" Adrien choked out.

Marinette's face turned either pale or burning red.

"D-did I s-say that out… out…loud?" she managed to say.

He nodded slowly and looked to the ground again but not in sadness but in disbelief.

' _I want to die. I want to die. I WANT TO DIE'_ she screamed internally.

"So… do you only like Adrien?" he asked in a monotone voice.

Her thoughts of how she wanted to die died… pun intended and she focused on Adrien.

Her heart soared at that moment and she could only do what she's been afraid to do all this time.

"I thought I did… until an ally cat kept sneaking his way into my mind." She mumbled due to her embarrassment.

He could hear her perfectly though and his heart felt like combusting with joy.

The several steps that separated them were being filled by Adrien, slowly but fast enough to send Marinette's heart into her throat and nearly choking her.

Only a step separated them and Marinette couldn't move, she could only look into familiar green eyes that looked at her so fondly and lovingly.

' _What is he going to do'_ she panicked

In a swift move, Adrien's arms wrapped around Marinette's small frame and encaged her in warmth and his head tucking itself in the crook of her neck.

He didn't forcefully grab her and trap her, no, the right words were soft and gentle and dare Marinette think- blissful.

"If you want me to let you go, say so." He whispered but at the same time also desperately asking her not to say no.

She didn't; she instead had raised her own arms and wrapped them around him. Hugging him back felt so natural and it felt better than any adrenaline she could muster up jumping from building to building.

Adrien's heart swelled at her returning the hug. But he yearned for more…

He lifted his head and leaned back to look at her.

She looked up at him, her eyes bold and blue and certainly curious. Her cheeks were bright red and making her look absolutely adorable.

"Marinette… I want to kiss you" he whispered.

Her whole face turned red and she had immediately averted her eyes from his.

"I won't if you don't want to" he quickly added.

She looked up at him quickly "I-it's not that I d-don't want to" she interjected "It's just…uh… it's m-my first-"

"It'll be mine too" he smiled and reassured her.

She stared at him, feeling anxious and so unbelievably happy at the moment. She bit her lip out of habit which didn't help Adrien contain himself.

"I-I want to kiss you too" she confirmed.

He smiled and leaned down slowly until their lips met in a sweet and pure first kiss.

She couldn't keep her eyes open at all; her thoughts were drowned by the feeling of Adrien's lips on her.

First kisses were exactly what they are set out to be- a learning curve, a new sensation, a burst of affection. The kiss was short but the two felt like it had been longer and wished it would last longer but they slowly separated, both flushed and very embarrassed.

Marinette started to giggle all of the sudden which caused Adrien to raise his eyebrow at her playfully.

"And what is so funny, Milady?"

She stopped her giggling "I just realised something… You also gave away your identity! And with a stupid chemistry pun too!" she giggled again loudly.

He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. Looking at his lady, his Marinette giggle at him and return his feelings. He couldn't feel any happier right at this moment.

"Chemistry puns are not stupid! They are the cat's _meow_!" he grinned.

"And now you're lumping in your cat puns, how _pawful_ " she deadpanned.

"See my lady, we are meant to be" he grinned.

She only rolled her eyes at him. And let her mind wonder again,

' _To think this dork of a cat had been sitting right in front of me in class this whole time'_

' _He was closer than I thought'_

* * *

 **Wow… this took forever to write!**

 **So sorry for the long wait everyone. I hope this does justice to the first chapter.**

 **Chemistry puns are awful so I apologise to the Marinette's out there… I'm Adrien at heart with puns. Oh and does anyone remember details of their first kiss because I drew a blank writing the kiss scene…**

 **Oh and** **saberstorm** **you had me pegged from the start that Adrien would reveal himself with puns, very clever Padwan!**

 **So I just started to study hairdressing, which is also why I took so long to finish, and yeah well me doing desk work was snoresville and hairdressing is a family business so I thought I give it a shot.**

 **So this is it for me in the Miraculous fandom until I finish my other stories, so if any of you are Fairy Tail fans you can check out my other stuff.**

 **Special shout out to my Beta Jellybeanbubbles, you are my lifesaver and a great boost to my confidence!**

 **Thank you everyone for your support! Leave a nice review and have a nice day!**


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